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CoInitialize error when trying to initialize a webview2 component from a DLL

First off I would just like to mention that I am by no means a C# or a windows developer expert.
The following code is kind of a mish-mash I've slap together from examples and tutorials I found on the internet.
The premise of the code is to create a webview2 component in a winform, where the winform is a DLL that gets loaded by a third-party application.
Now, the third-party application loads my DLL and calls this function:
Integrations::ShowForm("Form1");
My winform is a basic C# Windows Forms App using .Net Framework.
My Form1.cs looks as follows:
namespace GuiIntegrations
{
public partial class Form1 : Form
{
public Form1()
{
string webview2DllPath = #"C:\TestFolder\runtimes\win-x64\native";
CoreWebView2Environment.SetLoaderDllFolderPath(webview2DllPath);
Environment.SetEnvironmentVariable("WEBVIEW2_USER_DATA_FOLDER", #"C:\TestFolder\user-data");
InitializeComponent();
_ = InitializeAsync();
}
}
}
My Form1.Designer.cs file looks like:
namespace GuiIntegrations
{
public partial class Form1 : Form
{
private System.ComponentModel.IContainer components = null;
#region Windows Form Designer generated code
...
#endregion
private Microsoft.Web.WebView2.WinForms.WebView2 webView21;
async Task InitializeAsync()
{
try
{
string webview2FixedPath = #"C:\TestFolder\Microsoft.WebView2.FixedVersionRuntime.105.0.1343.33.x64";
var env = await CoreWebView2Environment.CreateAsync(browserExecutableFolder: webview2FixedPath , userDataFolder: #"C:\TestFolder\user-data");
await webView21.EnsureCoreWebView2Async(env);
webView21.Source = new Uri("https://www.google.com");
}
catch (Exception e)
{
// The exception goes into an event-list that can be processed outside the DLL
}
}
}
}
(The excluded #region is just your normal winform generated code).
Also in the DLL is a class called Integrations.cs, that looks like this:
namespace GuiIntegrations
{
public static class Integrations
{
private static Form1 form;
private static Thread formThread;
[STAThread]
public static void ShowForm(string formName)
{
try
{
Assembly assembly = Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly();
Type[] types = assembly.GetTypes();
foreach (Type type in types)
{
if (type.BaseType == typeof(Form) && type.Name == formName)
{
object obj_form = type.Assembly.CreateInstance(type.FullName);
form = (Form1)obj_form;
formThread = new Thread(() => Application.Run(form));
formThread.SetApartmentState(ApartmentState.STA);
formThread.Start();
Thread.Sleep(200);
}
}
} catch (Exception e)
{
MessageBox.Show(e.Message);
}
}
}
}
Apologies that its not the most eloquent source, but I kind of did it on the fly.
FYI:
C:\TestFolder\runtimes\win-x64\native is the location for the 'WebView2Loader.dll' DLL of the webview2 component.
my winform DLL location also contains the 3 other webview2 DLLs Microsoft.Web.WebView2.Core.dll, Microsoft.Web.WebView2.WinForms.dll, Microsoft.Web.WebView2.Wpf.dll
C:\TestFolder\Microsoft.WebView2.FixedVersionRuntime.105.0.1343.33.x64 is the extracted location of the fixed runtime for webview2.
The problem occurs when 'CoreWebView2Environment.CreateAsync' is called. As soon as its executed, it throws an exception 'Exception: CoInitialize has not been called. (Exception from HRESULT: 0x800401F0 (CO_E_NOTINITIALIZED)'.
As far as I could determine from the error, its not entering the single-apartment state, which is strange considering that I am setting the thread-state that starts the form as STA.
I've also checked that my component doesn't contain a 'Source' field:
ComponentProperties
Any help would be greatly appreciate.
PS. When I compile the program as a Windows Application and run it, the component loads fine and shows the google page.

How to send strings to a WinForms application from another application using methods

I have an EXE that I've created called logger which is a simple WinForms application. It has a richtextbox and that's pretty much it.
I then also have a suite of other applications. What I want to be able to do with these apps is to be able to get them to write output to the logger.exe I have full control over the code of all applications.
I understand I could do a process.start and specify arguments but I want these apps to be able to write to the richtextbox at will based on the methods being called within them.
I was hoping I could create an api in the logger.exe that would expose a method for appending the richtextbox.
Does anyone have any tips on how I might achieve this?
EDIT: This is what I have so far:
namespace ScreenLog
{
[ServiceBehavior(ConcurrencyMode = ConcurrencyMode.Reentrant, InstanceContextMode = InstanceContextMode.Single)]
public partial class Logger : Form, IFromClientToServerMessages
{
public Logger()
{
InitializeComponent();
}
public void DisplayTextOnServerAsFromThisClient(string text)
{
LogConsole.AppendText(Environment.NewLine + text);
}
}
[ServiceContract(SessionMode = SessionMode.Allowed)]
public interface IFromClientToServerMessages
{
[OperationContract(IsOneWay = false)]
void DisplayTextOnServerAsFromThisClient(string message);
}
}

As you might have already guessed you would need any of IPC(Inter Process Communication) mechanism to send messages between different processes(Applications). WCF is one of the option, You could implement a simple WCF service module which uses net.pipe binding. This service can be hosted in managed application. In your case this service can be hosted in your logger application.
Note: If you want to host a WCF application in a managed application, Particular managed application(Logger) should have admin privilege.
Implementation of Logger Form
partial class declaration
[ServiceBehavior(ConcurrencyMode = ConcurrencyMode.Reentrant, InstanceContextMode = InstanceContextMode.Single)]
public partial class Logger: Form, IFromClientToServerMessages
Introduce Interface for communication
This interface should be added to a assembly which is accessible by both Logger application and any other application which sends message to logger.
[ServiceContract(SessionMode = SessionMode.Allowed)]
public interface IFromClientToServerMessages
{
[OperationContract(IsOneWay = false)]
void DisplayTextOnServerAsFromThisClient(string message);
}
Implementing Interface
Add the following method implementation to your Logger form
public void DisplayTextOnServerAsFromThisClient(string text)
{
//Add proper logic to set value to rich text box control.
richtextbox = text;
}
Hosting the WCF service in logger application
Invoke HostTheNetPipeService() within the constructor of Logger Form
private void HostTheNetPipeService()
{
serverHost = new ServiceHost(this);
serverHost.AddServiceEndpoint((typeof(IFromClientToServerMessages)), new NetNamedPipeBinding(), "net.pipe://127.0.0.1/Server");
serverHost.Open();
}
Call the service from other applications to send message/text
private void SendMessageToLogger()
{
using (ChannelFactory<IFromClientToServerMessages> factory = new ChannelFactory<IFromClientToServerMessages>(new NetNamedPipeBinding(), new EndpointAddress("net.pipe://localhost/Server")))
{
IFromClientToServerMessages clientToServerChannel = factory.CreateChannel();
try
{
clientToServerChannel.DisplayTextOnServerAsFromThisClient("Message to be displayed");
}
catch (Exception ex)
{
}
finally
{
CloseChannel((ICommunicationObject)clientToServerChannel);
}
}
}
Closing the communication channel
private void CloseChannel(ICommunicationObject channel)
{
try
{
channel.Close();
}
catch (Exception ex)
{
}
finally
{
channel.Abort();
}
}

Getting a Windows Service to send active values back to WCF client

I have a Windows service that uses net.pipe as a WCF server and a Windows forms client to connect to it. There is a class called ConfigSettings that has values I want the client to query.
I want to have the client read the current values inside the serviceConfig instance that the service uses. Ultimately, I want the client to change values in it, but baby steps first.
The form can talk to the server via named pipes, but 'return serviceConfig is sending a new empty instance back to the client. I want the data that the service is actively using (that is, serviceConfig.Setting1 = x; serviceConfig.Setting2 = "foo"; )
The Windows service and WCF server code is (updated to working version):
using System.IO;
using System.ServiceModel;
using System.ServiceProcess;
namespace WindowsServiceTest
{
public partial class Service1 : ServiceBase
{
internal static ServiceHost myServiceHost = null;
//this is the master config that the service uses
public static ConfigSettings serviceConfig = new ConfigSettings();
public Service1()
{
InitializeComponent();
}
protected override void OnStart(string[] args)
{
if (myServiceHost != null)
{
myServiceHost.Close();
}
myServiceHost = new ServiceHost(typeof(WCFService1));
myServiceHost.Open();
//set active default settings
serviceConfig.Setting1 = 1;
serviceConfig.Setting2 = "initial.Setting2:" + serviceConfig.Setting1;
}
protected override void OnStop()
{
if (myServiceHost != null)
{
myServiceHost.Close();
myServiceHost = null;
}
}
}
public partial class WCFService1 : IService1
{
public ConfigSettings GetConfig()
{
return Service1.serviceConfig;
}
public void SetConfig(ConfigSettings sentConfig)
{
Service1.serviceConfig = sentConfig;
}
}
[ServiceContract]
public interface IService1
{
[OperationContract]
ConfigSettings GetConfig();
[OperationContract]
void SetConfig(ConfigSettings sentConfig);
}
public class ConfigSettings
{
public int Setting1 { get; set; }
public string Setting2 { get; set; }
public ConfigSettings() { }
}
}
The client retrieves the config like this (updated with some changes):
using System;
using System.ServiceProcess;
using System.Windows.Forms;
using WindowsServiceTest;
namespace WindowsServiceTestForm
{
public partial class Form1 : Form
{
public Form1()
{
InitializeComponent();
}
ConfigSettings config = new ConfigSettings();
//GetConfig()
private void button1_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
ServiceReference1.Service1Client myService = new ServiceReference1.Service1Client();
ServiceControllerPermission scp = new ServiceControllerPermission(ServiceControllerPermissionAccess.Control, Environment.MachineName, "Service1");//this will grant permission to access the Service
//get the current config and display
config = myService.GetConfig();
MessageBox.Show(config.Setting1 + "\r\n" + config.Setting2, "config");
myService.Close();
}
//SetConfig(ConfigSettings)
private void button2_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{ //make changes to values
config.Setting1 += 1;
config.Setting2 = "new.Setting2:" + config.Setting1;
ServiceReference1.Service1Client myService = new ServiceReference1.Service1Client();
ServiceControllerPermission scp = new ServiceControllerPermission(ServiceControllerPermissionAccess.Control, Environment.MachineName, "Service1");//this will grant permission to access the Service
//send the new config
myService.SetConfig(config);
myService.Close();
}
}
}
Update:
Maybe what I'm thinking needs to be done is overkill. It seems that I'm hitting a membrane between WCF and the Windows Service.
How would YOU approach this problem?
Windows Service that needs a Form for configuration.
When service starts, it loads a config.xml file from disk. (a serialized class)
When GUI starts, I want to:
retrieve its current configuration,
make some changes to it,
push it back to the service,
trigger service to re-read and react to the new configuration.
I was trying to avoid statically/writing the config file to disk and telling service to re-read it again. It "seemed" like WCF was the way to go.
Update 2
It seems that by just changing the master config in the service to static, the WCF service can access it directly. I could have sworn I did that originally before I posted, but I guess not.
I also separated the naming of Service1 to WCFService1 above, but it turns out that doesn't matter and works either way.
New complete code has been updated above.

You are getting confused between Windows Service and WCF Service - and have tried to have them both in the same class - while this is possible - it is probably easier to understand if you split them into two classes.
In your example the Windows Service starts, creates a new instance of itself as the WCF service then sets the config elements in the Windows Service instance, meaning the config is empty in the WCF Service instance.
try this instead
using System.ServiceModel;
using System.ServiceProcess;
namespace WindowsServiceTest
{
public partial class Service1 : ServiceBase
{
internal static ServiceHost myServiceHost = null;
public Service1()
{
InitializeComponent();
}
protected override void OnStart(string[] args)
{
if (myServiceHost != null)
{
myServiceHost.Close();
}
myServiceHost = new ServiceHost(typeof(WCFService1 ));
myServiceHost.Open();
}
protected override void OnStop()
{
if (myServiceHost != null)
{
myServiceHost.Close();
myServiceHost = null;
}
}
}
public class WCFService1 : IService1
{
public WCFService1()
{
//change master settings from null
myConfig.Setting1 = "123";
myConfig.Setting2 = "456";
}
//this is the master config that the service uses
public ConfigSettings myConfig = new ConfigSettings();
public ConfigSettings GetConfig()
{
return myConfig;
}
}
[ServiceContract]
public interface IService1
{
[OperationContract]
ConfigSettings GetConfig();
}
public class ConfigSettings
{
public string Setting1 { get; set; }
public string Setting2 { get; set; }
public ConfigSettings()
{ }
}
}

There are a few ways of doing this (injecting dependencies in the service instance). I'll show two of them.
You have a special case here because the Windows Service is also your WCF service implementation. I think that soon enough you will want to separate them. So, my samples are based on a separate WCF service implementation.
The thing is that WCF has a concept of service instance mode. By default it is PerCall, meaning that a new Service1 instance is created to handle each request. This makes it a bit more difficult to inject something in these instances.
The simplest way is to set the instance mode to Single, meaning there will be only one Service1 instance handling all requests.
The second is easy to implement:
[ServiceBehavior(InstanceContextMode = InstanceContextMode.Single)]
public class Service1Implementation : IService1
{
private ConfigSettings _configSettings;
public Service1(ConfigSettings settings)
{
//now you have the settings in the service
_configSettings = setting;
}
...
}
//in the Windows Service
myServiceHost = new ServiceHost(typeof(Service1Implementation), new Service1Implementation(myConfig));
myServiceHost.Open();
The first solution involves you creating and specifying a service instance factory which the infrastructure will use later to create service instances per call.
The factory gives you the possibility to instantiate Service1 yourself and pass the config.
There is quite some code to be written for this, but I'll show the essential. For the complete solution, read this.
For you, it's easier to make the Windows Service just implement IInstanceProvider:
public class Service1 : ServiceBase, IInstanceProvider
{
private ConfigSettings _myConfig; //assign this member later on
...
//IInstanceProvider implementation
public object GetInstance(InstanceContext instanceContext, Message message)
{
//this is how you inject the config
return new Service1Implementation(_myConfig);
}
public object GetInstance(InstanceContext instanceContext)
{
return this.GetInstance(instanceContext, null);
}
public void ReleaseInstance(InstanceContext instanceContext, object instance)
{
}
...
}

I will admit that it's been a while since I've touched WCF, but it looks to me like your ConfigSettings class is missing some attributes required to make it serializable via WCF.
using System.Runtime.Serialization;
[DataContract]
public class ConfigSettings
{
[DataMember]
public string Setting1 { get; set; }
[DataMember]
public string Setting2 { get; set; }
public ConfigSettings()
{ }
}
I don't believe having your Windows service operate as your WCF service, like other answers have suggested, is the problem. But I do agree that it's best to have them be separate classes.

MEF error in form designer?

I am using MEF and my plugin directory is c:\dev\plugins
I have a form, but when I open it up, I have the following error:
The composition produced a single composition error. The root cause is provided below. Review the CompositionException.Errors property for more detailed information. 1) The export 'Helper (ContractName="IHelper")' is not assignable to type 'IHelper'. Resulting in: Cannot set import 'helper (ContractName="IHelper")' on part 'Manager'. Element: helper (ContractName="IHelper") --> Manager`
I have two assemblies that contain the same exports, but I am using DirectoryCatalog to only load one of them at a time.
This error only seems to show in the designer. When I run the code, I don't get an exception and the app runs fine. The designer does give me the option to Ignore and Continue but I did this once and it failed, so I am holding back.
public class Manager
{
private static readonly Manager instance = new Manager();
public static IHelper Helper { get { return Manager.instance.helper; } }
[Import(typeof(IHelper))]
internal IHelper helper { get; set; }
private Manager()
{
using (DirectoryCatalog catalog =
new DirectoryCatalog(#"c:\dev\plugins"))
{
using (CompositionContainer container =
new CompositionContainer(catalog))
{
container.ComposeParts(this);
}
}
}
}
public interface IHelper
{
string LabelText { get; }
}
[Export(typeof(IHelper))]
public class SpecificHelper : IHelper
{
public string LabelText
{
get { return "Id:"};
}
}

Synchronized message passing with Prism

In our prism application we need to load a module to the centre pane when the user clicks an item in a tree(seperate module). The module in the centre pane(say designer module) can open a file and display itself if it is given a path. How can I pass the path of the file to this module?
For example
in Designer module
public DesignerViewModel(DataAccess dataAccess)// This will be injected
{
}
//The following class can create the model objects using the IDataService for getting data from remote location
public DataAccess(IDataService service)//this will be injected
{
}
The data access object is local to the Designer module, so I wouldnt like to expose it to outside the module. So the registration is done in the module
public class DesignerModule : IModule
{
public void Initialize()
{
var container = ServiceLocator.Current.GetInstance<IUnityContainer>();
container.RegisterType<Object, DesignerView>("DesignerUI");
container.RegisterType<DataAccess>();
}
}
IDataService is registered in the application level
public class BootStrapper : UnityBootstrapper
{
protected override void ConfigureContainer()
{
base.ConfigureContainer();
Container.RegisterType<IDataService, DataService>();
}
}
Note that IDataService is a singleton for the entire app. I cannot pass the path of file which is specific to a module instance in IDataService. Note that you can open any number of modules in the centre pane as you like, just click on a tree item->tree will fire an event with the selected item id->app will find out a path corresponding to the item id and invoke the module.
How will I pass the path when I say _regionManager.AddToRegion("CenterRegion", DesignerModule); Prism will do all the dependency injections beautifully, but how to pass the path is a big question?

You can use EventAggregator to exchange with messages beetwen modules.
Each module subscribe to EventAggregator.
While you open a module you can send to host control notification about newborn.
Host control send response back with initialization data.
public class MessageEvent : CompositePresentationEvent<Message>{}
internal class MessageReceiver
{
private readonly MessageEvent _evt;
private readonly string _myId = Guid.NewGuid().ToString();
internal MessageReceiver(IEventAggregator eventAggregator)
{
_evt = eventAggregator.GetEvent<MessageEvent>();
_evt.Subscribe(Receive, true);
_evt.Publish(new Message { Source = _myId, Command = Message.Commands.WhoIAm });
}
public void Receive(Message message)
{
switch (message.Command)
{
case Message.Commands.WhoIAm:
_evt.Publish(
new Message
{
Destination = message.Source,
Command = Message.Commands.Initialize,
MessageData = Encoding.UTF8.GetBytes("init data")
});
break;
case Message.Commands.Initialize:
if (message.Destination == _myId)
{
//init
}
break;
}
}
}
public class Message
{
public enum Commands { Initialize, WhoIAm }
public string Source { get; set; }
public string Destination { get; set; }
public Commands Command { get; set; }
public byte[] MessageData { get; set; }
}

I found out the answer from my colleague.The parameters can be overriden with your own objects when you call Resolve(). So create the object which is going to be injected, populate it and pass with the Resolve<>() with ParameterOverride. Search for ParameterOverride in google for more information.